A Captain's farewell
by Stand with Ward and Queen
Summary: Spoilers for Endgame. On his trip to return the stones, Steve runs into someone from his past that helps him make a decision about the future.


**So, this was born out of my dissatisfaction with Steve's ending in Endgame and from a conversation I had with Philippe363 on the topic. Hope you enjoy it. **

Camp Lehigh, 1970s

Afternoon

Steve had saved returning The Tesseract for last. He wasn't sure why, perhaps he wanted to savor being in his old camp one last time. The place where his entire life had changed. In a way, the place he was truly born.

Steve opened the safe and pulled out the Tesseract. If he never saw this thing again, it would be too soon. The stones had done nothing but caused him trouble and grief, Steve thought grimly as he remembered Natasha, Vision and Tony. He was putting the glowing cube in the safe when he heard the click of a gun behind him.

"Drop the Tesseract and turn around," a familiar, accented voice said and Steve almost swore. "I said turn around."

Cursing himself for his carelessness, Steve lowered the Tesseract into the safe before putting his hands up and slowly turning around to face Peggy Carter. Peggy lowered her gun in shock as she stared at him, looking as though she'd seen a ghost. To her, he probably was one, Steve mused.

"Steve?" she breathed. "How…"

"I don't have time to explain. I'm on a mission," Steve stressed.

"Agent Carter," Steve looked away, using the cap he was wearing to hide his face as an agent poked his head around the corner. "Everything okay?"

"Fine," Peggy said after a moment as she stared at Steve. "Everything's fine. Carry on."

Steve sighed in relief as the agent walked off.

"Thank you," Steve said gratefully.

"Let's go to my office. We won't be disturbed there," Peggy didn't so much as ask as ordered.

Steve nodded, knowing he owed her at least that. After closing the safe, the pair stealthily made their way through the base, Steve lowering the cap to hide his face. Then, they were in her office. Peggy closed the door behind them and lowered the flap to hide them from view of Hank Pym's office as Steve took off his cap.

"How is this possible? We thought you were dead," Peggy demanded, her eyes filled with healed but remembered pain.

"I didn't die Peggy; I just went into the ice. In 2012, SHIELD will find me and dig me out," Steve said and she stared at him, baffled.

"Are you saying…" Peggy trailed off as Steve nodded.

"I'm from the future Peggy. From about fifty years to be precise," Steve said as Peggy tried to absorb this.

"Then how are you standing here?" Peggy asked and Steve shifted.

"That's…complicated," Steve said evasively.

"I have nothing pressing to attend to for the next hour. Uncomplicate it," Peggy said as she crossed her arms and Steve sighed, realizing she wouldn't budge.

Reluctantly, Steve told her everything. He told her about waking up in the future, about The Avengers. He told her about Hydra; although he omitted the part where it was still inside SHIELD (some things should remain secret). He told her about the Accords and the splitting of The Avengers. Finally, he told her about Thanos, how they'd failed to stop him until Scott had returned and given them hope again. He told her about the high cost they'd paid to stop Thanos and about why he was there.

"You've lived quite a life Steve," Peggy said once he was finished.

"For as long as I can remember, I just wanted to do what was right. I guess I'm not quite sure what that is anymore," Steve sighed. "Natasha and Tony are both gone. Clint's retired; Thor's left earth for good. I'm just…I don't know. I feel lost. For the first time since I woke up in that room and found out I was sixty years in the future, I don't have a mission…I have no purpose."

"Sounds like you need to get a life," Peggy said and Steve chuckled, remembering Tony saying that same thing to him. "Captain America was an amazing hero. He defeated the Red Skull, won us the war. But it wasn't Captain America I fell in love with. It was Steve Rogers. You've told me all about Captain America. What about Steve Rogers? Who is he? What does he want?"

"I'm not sure," Steve said after a moment of thought.

"Perhaps instead of looking for the next mission, you should try to figure out who you are outside of Captain America," Peggy said wisely and Steve frowned, considering her words.

Former Avenger's Compound, 2023

Afternoon

It was this conversation with Peggy that ran through Steve's mind as he said goodbye to Bucky and Sam in the ground that once held The Compound.

"You sure about this Steve?" Sam asked concerned and Steve nodded.

"I've given this a lot of thought Sam. I've been Captain America since I stepped out of that chamber. I need to figure out who Steve Rogers is. I think leaving for a while is the only way I can do that. Please try and understand," Steve said.

"Nah, I get it. You need to take a break from all this," Sam said, holding a hand out to Steve who shook it. "Thanks Cap. For everything."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you," Steve said with a smile, dropping Sam's hand before turning to Bucky. "Don't do anything stupid before I get back."

"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you," Bucky quipped and Steve chuckled.

"Jerk," Steve said as they hugged.

"Punk," Bucky said, hugging him tightly before they let go.

"I'm just sad the world won't have a Captain America anymore," Sam said wistfully and was surprised at the smile that spread across Steve's face.

"About that," Steve said, picking up his shield and holding it out to Sam. "Try it on."

Surprised, Sam who looked over at Bucky but the other man just nodded. Almost hesitantly, Sam reached out, accepting the shield from Steve. Sam shifted it a little, trying to get a feel for it.

"How does it feel?" Steve asked.

"Like it's somebody else's," Sam said honestly.

"It isn't," Steve said simply.

Sam straightened up at those words; the realization of what was happening sinking in as the shield in his hand suddenly felt a lot heavier. He glanced over at Bucky but Bucky only shot him a quick grin.

"Thank you," Sam said as he glanced back at Steve. "I'll do my best."

"That's why it's yours," Steve said as he picked up his duffle bag, throwing it over his shoulder. "If you guys ever need anything, if you need me…I'll be there."

Neither Sam nor Bucky said anything for a moment, watching as Steve turned and walked away. They were silent, watching Steve until he vanished from view. It was quiet, too quiet for their liking.

"So what now now?" Bucky asked as he looked over at Sam and the other man considered the question for a moment.

"We get to work," Sam said simply.

**So, Steve is my favorite character in the MCU and I loved Endgame. But I did not like the ending for Steve. In my opinion, it doesn't make sense and makes Steve take a few steps back In terms of character development. **

**Steve had long since made peace with the fact that he was a man out of time, best seen in Age of Ultron. He's accepted that he wasn't the same person he was in 1945, that he didn't necessarily want the same things. He'd formed a family in The Avengers; he's just gotten Bucky back. And yeah, Tony and Natasha were gone, but he still had Sam, Wanda, and the others. Are we supposed to buy that he'd go back to live with Peggy in the past after all that, abandoning Bucky and essentially dooming the timeline he's created when Thanos shows up? Really? That doesn't seem like the Steve Rogers I've come to know over the last several years. **

**In the film, Thor and Tony were both given the chance to interact with someone from their past and this interaction gave both of them closure and allowed them to move forward in their lives. I think Steve should have been offered the same chance, to finally get closure with Peggy. And then he could give the shield to Sam and go off soul searching. This would not have changed the ending of Endgame in the slightest and it also would have allowed Chris Evans to return to the role should he ever desire to do so. **

**I apologize if Peggy seems OOC. I admit to not being very familiar with the character. **


End file.
